Take a deep breath. The wait is over. After the second season finale left fans with quite a few cliff-hangers, 90210’s third season begins tonight. But make no mistake: a new season won’t necessarily bring answers. The one thing we can count on is new storylines.

And, thankfully, I could count on Ryan Eggold (Ryan, 90210) to give me the dish last week as we chatted about the new season, his character’s evolution and just which of his talented castmates he’ll share significant screentime with in the upcoming episodes.

TeenDramaWhore: First off, I wanted to wish you a happy belated birthday.

Ryan Eggold: Oh, thank you very much. I appreciate that.

TDW: Did you celebrate on set?

Eggold: No. I didn’t. I wasn’t working. It’s really funny – I live near Universal Studios and we actually ended up going to Universal Studios. It was just sort of a random, “Why don’t we do this?” and it was a lot of fun. They have a new rollercoaster there that’s awesome.

TDW: Really? I’d love to try it.

Eggold: Yeah, this new Mummy ride. It was fantastic.

TDW: Well, I’ve been meaning to come out to L.A., and I was really bummed that I missed last week’s City of Beverly Hills’ 9-02-10 Day event.

Eggold: Yes! Oh my gosh, it was insane.

TDW: What did it mean to you to be part of the 90210 franchise on that day?

Eggold: It was cool. It was really fun. It was kind of weird because in Beverly Hills, and all over the place actually, they had posters up that said 90210 for 9-02-10 Day, not for the show. But it felt like it was for our show, because I can’t separate 90210 from anything but the show. I’d just see these posters all over town, in L.A. and Hollywood. It was kind of overwhelming, but it was fun. It was fun to be a part of something that means something to the history of a city.

TDW: I was able to watch a live-stream of the red carpet and part of the event online, and what I loved was seeing almost the whole cast there. The whole cast hasn’t been out in public for a while. There were only a few of you at The CW upfront, so this was the first time nearly all of you were together at an event in a long time. It was a really special event.

Eggold: Yeah, that’s true. I didn’t even think about that. It has been a while since everyone’s been out somewhere together. It was fun.

TDW: And you guys got feted with all sorts of amazing food and wine!

Eggold: Oh, there was some incredible food. If you make it out here, you have to eat in Beverly Hills. Everyone was sampling their restaurants, and it was amazing. And I was really hungry, too, so I was walking around eating everything in sight. It was delicious. There’s this place called Bouchon and they had these melons with feta cheese on top of it, and it was the best thing I’ve ever had in my life.

TDW: That’s awesome. So, there were no cast members there from the original series, right?

Eggold: No, there weren’t. I’m not sure why. I don’t know if they invited them or didn’t. I assume they did but I’m not sure. I assumed I’d see at least Jennie Garth (Kelly, Beverly Hills 90210) there or somebody, you know?

TDW: What memories do you have of the original show?

Eggold: I remember Luke Perry (Dylan, Beverly Hills 90210) being just sizzling. And I remember being just too young to be participating in what they were, in the sense that they’d be drinking and going to parties and having sex and all these things, and I’d be like, “What is that? I want to check that out. I don’t really know what it is, but one day I’m going to be a big kid like them and I’m going to do that stuff and it’s going to be awesome.” That’s what I remember.

TDW: That’s really funny, because I was really young when I started watching and it put these ideas in my head of what it was supposed to be like to be a teenager, and I always felt really crappy when my life didn’t measure up to theirs.

Eggold: Yeah, when you didn’t get a Ferrari for your birthday.

TDW: Yeah, exactly. Alright, back to the present day and this show and this show’s cast. A music video by Shenae Grimes (Annie) was recently released, and you starred in it. How did that come about?

Eggold: Shenae wanted to experiment with directing, and she got this song together. We actually ended up recording it here at my place, and had a lot of fun. She was embarrassed to sing, but she did and sounds great. She did a really great job. Everyone that’s seen it has said it looks really great and came out really well, and I agree. I hope she continues directing stuff. It’s fun to mess around with your friends in terms of making a short film or making a little music video or whatever.

TDW: I really loved it, and it was a surprise to see your face in the video and then it was a surprise again to see your name in the credits for providing some of the music as well. It just got me thinking how the whole cast has all these different side projects going on. Quite a few of you are involved in music, from Jessica Lowndes (Adrianna) to Tristan (Wilds, Dixon). All of you have these other avenues of art that you’re experimenting in.

Eggold: Yeah, it’s cool. There’s some really creative people on the show, and it’s really fun. I think everyone’s going to keep doing their little passion projects, whether it’s their music or writing or whatever they’re working on. Shenae’s into photography, too, and everyone’s got different things going on. I know Jessica Lowndes is releasing a single, and Tristan’s trying to put a record together, and I’m sort of trying to put some stuff together. It’ll be cool to start hearing those things, and seeing those things come to fruition.

TDW: I don’t expect you to remember, but I’ve actually interviewed you twice before.

Eggold: Oh, wow.

TDW: It was more than two years ago, on back-to-back days. It was your first CW upfront and the next day you guys came to the PEOPLE magazine offices where I was interning at the time.

Eggold: Yes!

TDW: And you guys just had preliminary ideas of what shape your characters would take, and I don’t think anyone could’ve guessed Ryan would now be struggling with alcohol and his self-confidence and about to be a father. He’s come a long way in just two short seasons.

Eggold: He’s fallen a long ways. It’s so funny to think about that day. When we first were starting the show, we had no idea what to expect.

TDW: I think an original storyline that you guys teased in those first few interviews was possibly a student-teacher romance, and that never happened. I understand showrunners have changed, and storylines are always rewritten. But something I’ve noticed recently is that Ryan isn’t interacting with the West Beverly students as much as he used to.

Eggold: No. He’s definitely more in his own storyline with Jen (Sara Foster). But this season Naomi (AnnaLynne McCord) and I develop sort of a relationship, because I’m having a kid with her sister and sort of being part of the family in that way. Their relationship is affected because of it. Naomi and Jen haven’t been the best of sisters, but through this and her having a nephew, they kind of come back together a bit, which is nice to see. Also because of the Mr. Cannon (Hal Ozsan) stuff, which I caught a glimpse of in the finale of season 2, Naomi’s dealing with some really interesting stuff and some terrible stuff from what happened. I sort of become part of that with her and help her with that. I think Ryan is a good sort of – what’s the word, not role model – he’s a good guy to be a teacher because he’s grounded and he’s got a good heart. He cares for his students. I think he can be there for her. And it’s great to work with AnnaLynne.

TDW: What storylines would you like to see for him, or is there a cast member you haven’t worked with much that you’d like to share some scenes with?

Eggold: I’ve always said that I want to work with Lori (Loughlin, Debbie). That would be a lot of fun. I’d love to do some more stuff with Tristan, just because we have such a great time off set. He’s such a great dude. I often work with my romantic partners, whether it’s Jen or Laurel (Kelly Lynch) or somebody, and I’d like to see [Ryan] branch out of that, and see him develop relationships with the kids, maybe a new character or something.

TDW: I believe you guys are about a quarter of the way through the season in terms of script reads, and I thought it would be fun to play a quick game of Two Truths And A Lie. So if you could give me three plausible spoilers for the upcoming season, two of which are completely true and one of which, while possible, isn’t at all going to happen.

Eggold: Okay, so two things that are true and one’s not. Somebody dies in the first episode. Somebody is born in the first episode. And somebody becomes a woman, who is a man originally, in the first episode.

TDW: Funny. Very nice. Thank you. One last question, and I always ask everyone this because I keep track of it for my readers. I wanted to confirm that you’re not on Twitter. I know you’re not, but people rather hear it from you.

Eggold: I’m not on Twitter. I’m like a caveman. I’m not on Facebook. I don’t even know if MySpace exists anymore. I’m not on Twitter. I feel disconnected. I’m probably a loser because I’m not on any of these things.

TDW: Well, I don’t think you’re a loser. You’re a hot guy and a star of a popular show. So you’re definitely not in loser territory.

Eggold: I like your interpretation better.

TDW: Thank you. But I would maybe ask your castmates to help set you up with a Twitter account. Nearly all of them have joined in the last year, and I think you have to be next.

Eggold: What do I say? What do you do on Twitter? Do I just say “I’m eating breakfast”?

TDW: Well, AnnaLynne likes to share a lot of her charity endeavors. Trevor (Donovan, Teddy) holds a lot of contests. He gives away swag to his followers. Tristan shares his music, and he’ll go on Ustream and show us him recording his music. People do say what they have for breakfast, and others get to know their fans. It’s what you make of it. It’s like “Choose Your Own Adventure” because you can choose who to follow and who to reply to and all that.

Eggold: It sounds really cool. It sounds like a lot of work.

TDW: Well, there’s no quota for how many times you have to tweet. But if you disappear, I might be upset with you but I’ll get over it eventually.

Eggold: I would like to share a little bit of music. But I would end up writing bizarre comments, just those weird thoughts that you have mid-day that you don’t share with people. I would end up sharing those and everyone would know I’m a total weirdo.

TDW: Well, I think Kanye West has that area covered on Twitter, but there’s room for you, too. And I know fans would love to have you. So if you do it, great.

Jorja in Boise, Idaho: Loved the Scrubs–Cougar Town casting scoop! Any other stars interested in coming on the show?
Well, Bill Lawrence has asked his cast if they have any friends who want to guest star, and Busy Philipps tells her famous bestie may be on board! “Michelle Williams and I were talking about how hilarious it would be if she came on and played my sister,” she laughs. “I don’t think her agents are going to go for it though.” Um, we are! A Dawson’s Creek reunion is long overdue, don’tcha think? I wonder what that Joey girl is up to?

Benny in Rhode Island: On Gossip Girl, what’s the deal with Serena’s new love interest? Does this mean Serena-Dan and Serena-Nate are over?
I’m told that the Dan-Serena-Nate triangle is definitely not over. The new squeeze is played by Sam Page and he isn’t the kind of guy she usually dates. Thoughts? Which guy are you rooting for?

On 90210, can you say who the guy who is going to come out of the closet is? Will he have a love interest? Also, what’s up with the rapist teacher guy? Is he out?
No, I can’t name the gay character (sorry—I’m glad you asked, but I can’t tell!) but I can tell you he definitely will have a love interest, and actor Kyle Riabko has been cast to fill the tole. As for Mr. Cannon, I’m told he’ll be Silver’s senior advisor. Dun dun dun.

Brandon: Anything else on 90210?
How about an Entourage-ish crossover? Naomi is going throw a crazy-lavish 18th birthday party early in the season and Adrian Grenier‘s band Honey Brothers has officially been named the house band. Pretty cool, huh?

Heather: Anything on True Blood? Will Joe Manganiello be back on One Tree Hill at all?
He told us he’d love to, and he has the space in his schedule, but I’m told there’s no talk right now of him returning, sorry! But at least you get to seen him scantily clad in an upcoming ep of True Blood…Which some of you probably won’t hate.

Zach in Santa Clara, Calif.: What is the deal with the two universes on Fringe and what does it mean for Joshua Jackson that Peter doesn’t have an alternate?
You can file this under no good, very bad news: Josh is only in every other episode. The artist formerly known as Pacey Witter himself told us he isn’t in the season premiere and he’s not in any of the odd-numbered episodes. Blasphemy! Why are the powers that be doing this to us, you ask? We spoke with his co-star Lance Reddick who spilled that, “Every other episode is going to be either one universe or the other. So, they’re going to be alternating universes at least for the first half of the season.” On the bright side, at least Josh now has more time to plan next year’s Pacey-Con, and that upcoming guest stint on The Vampire Diaries.

Kelly in Austin, Texas: Can you talk about the 90210 premiere and where things are when it returns?
Better yet, well let Michael Steger (Navid) fill you in: “It starts off strongly with Naomi’s character dealing with how it left off the season finale,” referring of course to the perceived rape in the season finale. And as for that sicko teacher, Michael says: “It’s a pretty intense storyline, and he’s still around.” Still very much around, we’re hearing.

Reggie: Is it true that one of the main guys will be gay on 90210 this season?
Yes, it is.

Nevin in Atlanta: Good lord, True Blood is offing people left and right! Can you tell us what’s coming up next?
You’ve probably heard 90210‘s Michael Steger is stopping by True Blood later this season, and this new gig is a far cry from his West Bev sleuth. “I’m a drug runaway who has a very interesting trade that feeds into his drug addiction and his lifestyle.,” Michael tells us. “It’s a really dark youth and he’s just a lost soul. I meet the King of Mississippi, and I resemble his love of 700 years. They have an interesting chemistry.” Whoa, whoa, whoa—what about Talbot?!

Like this:

(Note: “Fun Fact” probably isn’t the best title for this post but I wanted to keep it within my ongoing “teen drama facts” series, where all the posts are titled “Fun Fact.”)

Last month’s 90210 season finale, in which the episode ends with Naomi seemingly about to be raped by Mr. Cannon, got me thinking about the use and portrayal of sexual assault in the teen dramas.

Below is a listing of all the occurrences, to the best of my recollection, with the only full-fledged main character rape thus far occurring during Beverly Hills 90210’s ninth season.

Beverly Hills 90210

-In Episode 1.09, The Gentle Art of Listening, Brenda works on a “teen line,” where an anonymous girl calls in and reveals she is, essentially, being date raped by two classmates. Brenda starts piecing clues together and figures out the girl is Bonnie, a fellow student at West Beverly, and the attacks are taking place after school events. She informs the police of what’s happening and they save the girl and arrest the guys.

-In Episode 1.13, Slumber Party, Kelly reveals her first sexual encounter happened with Ross Webber, where he led her into a forest and had sex with her on the ground. As she recounts the story during a girls-only slumber party, she cries as she says, “He kept saying, ‘Come on, Kel. I know you want it. I know you want it, Kelly.’ And I did… but not on the ground. He didn’t even bring a blanket. But it was over pretty quick and after that he took me home…and never talked to me again.”

-In Episode 2.13, Halloween, the gang is at a Halloween party where Kelly goes upstairs with an older guy she meets. When she doesn’t want to hook up with him, he calls her a tease and begins to force himself on her but they are interrupted by Brenda and Donna. When Kelly cries and explains what happens, Brenda calls out for Dylan and, with Steve’s help, they drag the guy out.

-In Episode 3.11, A Presumption Of Innocence, Scott’s sister Sue accuses English teacher Gil Meyers of sexual harassment and some of the gang takes sides. Meyers reveals there was an incident at the previous school he worked at, but insists he didn’t do anything then or now. Sue eventually confesses that she actually came on to him and reveals it’s actually her uncle who has been molesting her. Gil resigns anyway.

-In Episode 4.11, Take Back The Night, a one-time hook-up, Laura, accuses Steve of date rape. He is shocked by the accusation as, according to his memory, they were both into it. Kelly tries to help Laura until she learns Steve is the guy in question. Kelly doubts Laura’s story and shortly before she’s set to “go public” at a Take Back The Night rally at CU, Kelly volunteers to speak up instead. Kelly takes the mic at the event and recounts her season 2 experience and notes that Steve was the one who saved her. Afterward, Laura admits the sex was consensual but that she said otherwise because she felt used after he wasn’t interested in seeing her again.

-In Episode 5.23, Love Hurts, much of the CU student body is concerned about a sexual predator after a co-ed is raped in the previous episode. With some help, Brandon discovers the suspect is targeting Clare. Turns out, he was targeting Clare but after meeting Donna, he set his sights on her instead. When Donna returns to her apartment one night, she notices the lights are out and is suddenly grabbed from behind by the rapist, Garrett. He bounds her hands and later proceeds to force himself on her in her bedroom but they are interrupted when they hear David enter the apartment. With Garrett threatening her, she calls out that she doesn’t feel well and insists to David that he leave. But when she calls him “Dave,” he senses something is wrong and storms into her room. Together they overpower Garrett and knock him out.

-In Episode 8.20, Cupid’s Arrow, after each having fights with their significant others, Valerie and Noah end up sleeping together. The next morning, Valerie wakes up with little recollection of the night before and feels very ill. A doctor determines she was drugged with Rohypnol, commonly known as the “date rape drug” or being “roofied,” and Valerie concludes that Noah raped her. In the subsequent episodes, when the District Attorney declines to press charges, she files a civil suit. After a heated trial, the jury rules in Valerie’s favor and awards her a large sum of money. Donna, however, soon discovers that it was Noah’s brother Josh (played by Michael Trucco, aka One Tree Hill’s Uncle Cooper) who actually drugged Valerie’s drink and, due to being distracted by a phone call, was unable to stop Valerie from leaving with Noah instead of him.

-In Episode 9.25, Dog’s Best Friend, Kelly is called by Dylan, who is fearful he will relapse if someone doesn’t come talk to him. They pick a meeting spot and Kelly parks nearby. As she walks the dark, abandoned street alone, she hears footsteps behind her. As she speeds up, so does the other person. Said person eventually grabs her and throws her into an alley where he hits her, threatens her with a knife, rips off her clothing and rapes her. Coincidentally, the actor who plays the rapist had two other roles on the show, including an appearance in the season 2 episode mentioned above where Kelly is almost raped.

Dawson’s Creek

-In Episode 3.06, Secrets and Lies, Andie is dating Rob, an older guy whom Joey worked with until his (mostly non-physical) sexual harassment becomes too much for her to take. One night, a tearful Andie calls Joey (skip to 3:05), asking for help. Joey and Pacey find her, wanting to know what happened. Andie reveals she and Rob were hooking up and he started to take things too far. Pacey, Andie’s ex, angrily confronts Rob, who denies anything happened at all. Joey urges Andie to go to the police but she’s reluctant. Pacey comforts her and they reflect on their relationship. They share a kiss, which Pacey later calls a mistake. Joey speaks with Rob, who is still denying he did anything to Andie, and Andie gets upset with Joey for not believing her. Later, Andie essentially admits she made the story up, without explicitly saying it, noting she will do anything to get Pacey back.

-In Episode 6.04, Instant Karma!, Audrey is upset about her relationship with Pacey and heads to a party with Jen and Jack to blow off some steam. She drowns her sorrows in alcohol and ends up being led upstairs by a guy (skip to 4:55). Jen tries to follow but a different guy won’t let her pass. C.J. pushes past and they head upstairs. They find Audrey in one of the bedrooms and Jen leads her out as C.J. pushes the guy away.

The O.C.

-In Episode 2.21, The Return Of The Nana, while Ryan is out of town, Marissa takes it upon herself to entertain his brother, Trey. While drunk and high, Trey comes on to Marissa at the beach. When she resists, a struggle ensues. She eventually breaks free and runs off.

One Tree Hill

-In Episode 1.08, The Search For Something More, when Brooke and Peyton head to a college party, Peyton retreats into a dorm room with one of the co-eds. They bond over music and he offers her a drink…one that he roofied. She is nearly passed out when he starts to put the moves on her but Brooke senses something is up and is able to rescue her. She calls Lucas, who arrives and confronts the guy about drugging Peyton before bringing her home with Brooke and taking care of her.

Gossip Girl

-In Episode 1.01, Pilot, at the Kiss On The Lips party, Chuck leads Jenny up to the roof and starts to kiss her (skip to 5.50). She’s not into it and slyly texts Dan as Chuck pours them champagne. Cut to Chuck forcibly making out with her as Dan and Serena find them. Chuck abruptly stops as Jenny runs into Dan’s arms. Dan punches Chuck, Serena pushes him and they lead Jenny away. This event is one reason why some people are bothered by Chuck and Jenny’s consensual sex in last month’s season finale.

-In Episode 2.16, You’ve Got Yale, a vengeful and greedy Jack confronts Lily (skip to 1:24), who has teamed up with Chuck to retain control of Bass Industries. Chuck enters as Jack is forcing himself on her and he gets Jack off of her. Lily is shaken, Chuck is pissed and Jack is further exposed as the villain he really is.

90210

-In Episode 2.22, Confessions, Naomi’s car won’t start, so she heads into West Beverly for help. She finds Mr. Cannon, whom earlier in the season, she accused of sexually harassing her after he accused her of offering to sleep with him in order to earn her spot back on the Blaze staff. They talk for a bit about different things, including Naomi’s false accusation. He later takes her hand and kisses her. She pushes him away, but he says he knows she wanted him to do it and she doesn’t need to feel guilty. He tells her to stop teasing and that she has a harassment fantasy and is trying to provoke him. She is appalled and pushes him away, leading him to slap her and grab her. She threatens that she will tell and he asks who she would tell because she is “the girl who cried wolf.” Coincidentally, that was the name of one of the episodes in Beverly Hills 90210’s eighth season, during the aforementioned rape storyline with Valerie and Noah.

I noticed the One Tree Hill evaluation had the most votes, with Gossip Girl having about half and 90210 half of Gossip Girl’s. I didn’t know whether that reflected the break-down of my readership–that I have more One Tree Hill fans, for instance, than Gossip Girl and 90210 fans–or if it was more demonstrative of the ratings each show gets or if it was simply poll fatigue or indifference. Participation in this evaluation was back up to the Gossip Girl level and, well, One Tree Hill dominated.

FAVORITE CHARACTERS

Winners: Brooke, Nathan

Noteworthy: Brooke received more than double the votes of Blair and nearly five times as many as Annie. Nathan had approximately the same amount of votes as Brooke, but there was a wider margin between him and Chuck and a smaller margin between him and Liam, compared to Brooke and her second and third place match-ups.

Last Season’s Winners: Brooke, Lucas

Thoughts: That’s two years in a row for Brooke, and with Nathan’s win, One Tree Hill takes this category again.

Thoughts: More One Tree Hill readers/voters or not,, I completely understand this result given Chair’s relationship in the last few episodes of the season and Navianna spending most of the season apart.

WORST CHARACTERS

Winners: Jenny, Dixon

Noteworthy: Switching things up a bit, the One Tree Hill option, Alex, came in last place with 14 percent of the vote. Naomi received only 11 percent more with Jenny getting 61 percent total. One Tree Hill came in last again on the male side, though this poll had the smallest margin thus far, with Dixon getting 55 percent to Dan’s 23 percent and Clay’s 21 percent.

Last Season’s Winners: Annie, Ethan

Thoughts: Gossip Girl’s first win came in a negative category, but it doesn’t surprise me as I’ve seen the strongest hatred for any character on any of the shows directed towards Jenny. This was 90210’s first win, too, albeit a negative one, but I could’ve seen any of the guys taking this category.

WORST COUPLE

Winner: Vanessa and Dan

Noteworthy: Danessa received 54 percent of the vote to Liomi’s 27 percent and Clay/Sara’s 18 percent.

Last Season’s Winner: Vanessa and Nate, Brooke and Owen

Thoughts: Completely expected this, as I’m still surprised Clay/Sara even “won” this category in the One Tree Hill Evaluation as I do think a few people do like them and Liomi has its fans as well. Danessa, on the other hand, well, I rarely–if ever–hear about people liking them.

FAVORITE SUPPORTING CHARACTER

Winner: Jamie

Noteworthy: Jamie received almost double the amount of votes as Dorota, and Dorota received almost double the amount Ivy had.

Last Season’s Winner: Jamie

Thoughts: Our second two-years-in-a-row winner is again a One Tree Hill character. I can’t say I understand the Jamie love and I expected Dorota to win. Who doesn’t love Dorota? Apparently some people.

BEST STORYLINE

Winner: Lydia’s return and death from cancer

Noteworthy: A low in terms of winning percentage, with Lydia getting 51 percent of the vote. Blair and Chuck’s relationship received less than half that, 30 percent, and Annie and Liam’s friendship had 19 percent.

Last Season’s Winner: Peyton and Lucas’ relationship

Thoughts: Strongly disagree with these results, with Lannie taking the cake for me, then Chair and then Lydia. But, of course, Lydia never would’ve been my pick in the first place.

WORST STORYLINE

Winner: Jenny all season

Noteworthy: And the low continues with Jenny garnering 43 percent and the smallest margins yet: Psycho Katie had 32 percent of the vote and Naomi’s false then real harassment and Annie/Jasper’s relationship received 24 percent.

Last Season’s Winner: Nanny Carrie’s return

Thoughts: I wasn’t surprised Jenny came out on top (but really the bottom) here, considering her win above. And I thought 90210 would come in last because of the tied option. If you only agreed with half of it, you might not pick it.

BEST CLIFF-HANGER

Winner: Clay and Quinn getting shot

Noteworthy: This evaluation’s first and only tie came here with both Georgina telling Dan she’s pregnant with his baby and Naomi seemingly about to be raped by Mr. Cannon each receiving 22 percent. Clay and Quinn earned a little more than double that amount, 56 percent.

Last Season’s Winner: Peyton’s pregnancy health scare(s)

Thoughts: I really thought Georgina was going to win, because it outperformed the other options in the individual evaluations and because unlike Clay and Quinn or Naomi, it wasn’t clear what was going to happen. I think it was pretty obvious that Naomi was going to be raped and if you follow One Tree Hill casting news, you already knew that Robert Buckley and Shantel VanSanten had contracts for season 8. So the only one with a true element of surprise and an unclear resolution, in my opinion, was Georgina.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE TEEN DRAMA BASED ON THIS PAST SEASON?

Winner: One Tree Hill

Noteworthy: This poll received more votes than any other (and I don’t quite understand why people didn’t vote in every category) and had large margins: OTH earned 66 percent of the vote to 90210’s 18 and Gossip Girl’s 16.

Last Season’s Winner: One Tree Hill

Thoughts: Expected One Tree Hill to win, given the results of the other categories and its individual polls having the highest participation. But I didn’t foresee 90210 beating out (even just barely) Gossip Girl.

Noteworthy: Silver had the lead early on, with Naomi having no votes at all. In the end, Silver fell short by six votes and Naomi managed to score 11. Liam more than doubled the votes Navid received and earned about 5 times as many as Dixon.

Last Season’s Winners: Silver, Liam

Thoughts: What a difference a year makes! Last season, readers voted Annie the worst character. Either I’ve got some new readers (or lost a few) or this season really put you in Annie’s corner. I was surprised to see Silver did so well, since I’ve read many complaints about her storylines this season and personality changes. Your love for Liam, however, is just as strong, if not stronger. Does this bode well for an Annie-Liam coupling next season?

FAVORITE COUPLE

Winner: Adrianna and Navid

Noteworthy: A few pairings didn’t receive any votes, but most interesting to me was that the three-highest vote-getters after Navianna all included Dixon and/or Silver. Dixon and Ivy came in second while Dixon and Silver tied Silver and Teddy for third place. Looks like Dixon couple love but not Dixon character love (see above and below).

Last Season’s Winner: Adrianna and Navid

Thoughts: I wasn’t surprised that Adrianna and Navid won again, even though they didn’t win the character polls, since the show is short on “supercouples.” It seems to me that fans are much less divided over Navianna than the other “major” couples that have been presented thus far.

WORST CHARACTERS

Winners: Naomi, Dixon

Noteworthy: Despite winning best character, Annie came close to “winning” here, too, with less than 10 votes separating her from Naomi. Dixon “won” by a huge amount–Navid and Liam weren’t even close, truly reflecting the opposite of the best character results, but with a larger margin.

Last Season’s Winners: Annie, Ethan

Thoughts: While I have little respect for Naomi, I had the impression others were fans or at least entertained by her, so I wasn’t quite expecting this. I did expect Dixon earning the title, based on comments I’ve seen from people wishing Tristan had better, more challenging storylines. I guess, at this point, he should consider himself lucky the writers aren’t making him follow the path of last season’s winner in this category.

WORST COUPLE

Winner: Naomi and Liam

Noteworthy: Liomi narrowly “beat” Annie and Jasper. Validating what I said above about nearly all viewers standing behind Adrianna and Navid, the couple received zero votes in this category–and was the only duo to do so.

Last Season’s Winner: Annie and Ethan

Thoughts: Liomi and Annie and Jasper were two pairings that I’ve seen really split the audience. That said, I think that’s true for some of the other pairings as well, such as Silver and Teddy (who came in third) and even Dixon and Ivy. I guess my point is that I could’ve seen any of these couples earning this title, as well as some of the others.

FAVORITE SUPPORTING CHARACTER

Winner: Ivy

Noteworthy: Most options didn’t receive any votes–including Harry–but Kelly came in second and Teddy in third. There were two votes for Mr. Cannon, which post-finale, I don’t really understand.

Last Season’s Winner: Kelly

Thoughts: Ivy and Teddy’s results bode well for the show, as both characters have been upgraded from recurring guest stars to series regulars. I’ve seen a lot of questions around the web asking where Kelly is and the poll indicates people still want to see her on the show–sorry folks; there are no plans in the works for that…but never say never. On the flipside, I’m not sure how to read Harry getting zero votes: a sign of dislike for the character, which means it’s a “win” for the show that he’s done, or a sign of indifference, since people know he’s gone and therefore there isn’t a point in voicing support for him.

BEST STORYLINE

Winner: Annie and Liam’s friendship

Noteworthy: No one came close to Annie/Liam and the second-highest was Annie related as well–the season-long hit-and-run storyline. The other storylines with multiple votes: the plan to take down Jen, Adrianna all season, Navianna’s relationship, Ade’s singing career Jen all season and Liomi’s relationship. Some of the more interesting responses: “Jasper and his crazy ass,” and “annie and her GUILT~!” and “all of them – i cant decide!”

Invalid Others: None

Last Season’s Winner: Adrianna and Navid’s relationship

Thoughts: Pleased to see people following the “focus on this season only” rule and selecting the right option. It’s quite remarkable that Annie and Liam won considering their storyline isn’t romantic and only really revved up in the last batch of episodes. I may just have a lot of Lannie readers, which is fine by me (and, of course, it’s fine to have fans of anyone or everyone else, too).

Noteworthy: Only one vote separated those from the second place tie, which was Liomi’s relationship and Teddy/Silver’s relationship. The other ones to get multiple votes: Adrianna’s singing career and Jasper in general. Some of my favorite responses: “The whole Annie/Jasper thing. Made me scream at the TV EVERY single week,” “everything involving jen” and “Annie’s hit and run … when will it end?!”

Invalid Others: None

Last Season’s Winner: Annie in the season finale

Thoughts: I’m surprised and not surprised about Annie/Jasper since, as I said above, I think the pairing gave many mixed feelings but people liked Annie enough this season to vote her best character.

BEST CLIFF-HANGER

Winner: Naomi seemingly about to be raped by Mr. Cannon

Noteworthy: Most of the votes were for things from the finale, such as Liam and Jasper’s fight (second place) and Annie confessing (third place). But the ending with Naomi won by a large margin. Some of the answers: “Naomi’s Possible Rape. So Devastating! That guy should go back to Dawsons Creek,” “The finale.. What will happen with liam beating Jasper? Naomi get raped? “the finale there were so many!” and “WHAT DID ANNIE TELL HER PARENTS/where was dixon going with that hat on (kidding).”

Invalid Others: None

Last Season’s Winner: Adrianna’s drug overdose

Thoughts: For all the talk of the finale not delivering, there were some interesting cliff-hangers, even if they weren’t quite what people were expecting, and clearly you guys agree. I was surprised there weren’t more votes for Jasper about to commit suicide and the mid-season finale where Jasper told Annie he knew she ran over his uncle.

RATE THE SEASON OVERALL

Winner: 9

Noteworthy: All values were voted for and only 2 votes separated 9 from 8.

Last Season’s Winner: 7.5

Thoughts: Quite frankly, I expected a lower rating given the response to the finale–I thought it would color people’s view of the season overall. But, as many critics have said, quite a few believe the show has improved a lot from last year, which makes the increase in rating by 1.5 not that surprising.

RATE THE SHOW OVERALL

Winner: 7

Noteworthy: The only value not voted for–2. The second-highest vote-getter was 10, followed by 8 and 9, respectively.

Last Season’s Winner: 7.5

Thoughts: And throwing a kink in my “show improved” theory is the response here, where the rating decreased from last season. But, as I said, 10 came close to winning–like one vote away close–so I don’t know what to really conclude.

The Teen Drama Evaluation, with the results from all three polls going head-to-head, will be posted tomorrow.